Toyota Corolla Verso 180 (2004) Driving Impression - Cars.co.za Cars.co.za Toyota Corolla Verso 180 (2004) Driving Impression Toyota Corolla Verso 180 (2004) Driving Impression By Cars.co.za , July 20th, 2004 Posted in Toyota Verso MPV Car reviews Driving Impression Although it was Renault that started the compact MPV craze in the ‘90s when it launched the original Megane Scenic, it was Opel that picked up the proverbial ball and ran with it. The Zafira not only gave that somewhat struggling brand a healthy sales injection, but also introduced the concept of a compact seven-seat MPV with fold-flat rear seats. It was an immediate sales success, with customers loving the practicality of having either seven seats, or five seats and a truly massive boot. Now, the Toyota Corolla Verso joins the party, a vehicle the Japanese company says is not only more practical than the Opel, but also more upmarket in its fittings, and sportier to drive.

Easy Flat 7 for Toyota Corolla Verso The Toyota’s party trick is a seat folding system called Easy Flat 7. The second and third rows of seats can fold into the floor (with their headrests), and leave a flat load surface – aching backs from removing seats are a thing of the past, as is swearing as seatbelts and headrests get in the way of folding. You simply flip the backrests forward to set in motion the folding routine. Once the seats have all disappeared into the floor, the Toyota Corolla Verso offers commercial van-like space for transporting typical household objects, appliances and even furniture. With the middle row of seats upright, the boot is impressively large, though not quite as big as the Zafira’s. Another plus-point is the wide range of fore/aft sliding adjustment offered by this middle row, allowing occupants to tailor their legroom. The third row of seats, however, are really only suitable for children, and when taken just about wipes out any meaningful space in the boot. Slide into the driver’s seat for the first time and you may not immediately believe you’re in a Toyota, never mind a humble MPV.

The appearance of the facia is both upmarket and adventurous, courtesy of lovely instrumentation with minty green backlighting and a centre section that resembles a top-end hi-fi. Build quality is good, and there are numerous hidey-holes, including a double glove compartment. Generous specification Although by no means cheap, this base model Toyota Corolla Verso nevertheless offers excellent value as a result of a comprehensive standard features list. Sure, it has neither alloy wheels, nor leather upholstery or electric windows in the rear, but air-conditioning (with rear ducts), rake/reach-adjustable steering, an audio system with remote audio controls, push-button starting, remote central locking, adjustable headlamps, height-adjustable front seats, ABS with EBD and dual front and side airbags, as well as a knee airbag, are all standard. The exterior appearance arguably also makes the Toyota Corolla Verso look more expensive than it really is. There’s full colour coding, quirky rear lights and plastic wheel covers that do a very good job of looking like alloys. Toyota is often criticised for producing bland cars, but this isn’t one of them.

Frugal power For now Toyota is only offering one engine option in the Verso, the proven 1,8-litre petrol that is also used in the Corolla sedan, albeit in a different state of tune. In the Verso it produces 95 kW and 170 Nm of torque, and is coupled with a five-speed manual transmission driving the front wheels. Traffic light grands prix are unlikely to be a high priority, but good overtaking power for those long-distance family holidays will be. The maximum torque figure is only available at a fairly high 4 200 rpm, but in general use the Verso is lively enough. With a full complement of passenger and luggage, however, and especially at altitude, regular downshifting may be required, but this is no hardship, as this gearbox is one of Toyota’s better efforts. The engine delivers reasonable economy, with a figure of around 10 litres/100 km being a realistic goal. Finally, Toyota has managed to strike a particularly fine balance between achieving a comfortable ride and good dynamics. The Toyota Corolla Verso absorbs bumps with ease, but the suspension never wallows or feels floaty.

Consequently, body control is good in the corners, and the Verso feels more like a tall hatchback, than a “bus”. It’s a particularly impressive achievement by Toyota because it means the stated goal of bringing sportiness to this segment has clearly been achieved. Toyota Corolla Verso - Verdict The Toyota Corolla Verso is a surprising package in a number of ways. Firstly, Toyota is not known for breaking its own mould all that often, but it has certainly done that here. The Verso could easily have been a conservative derivative of the Corolla, but instead it has its own character, and quite a sporty and quirky one at that! In the end, however, a seven-seat MPV has to be practical and comfortable, and on that front the Verso impresses once more. While not all customers will need seven seats, the Verso at least offers a no-compromise package, with superb comfort for five and a large boot in what is likely to be its most often used configuration. Zafira… you’ve been dethroned.

We like: Boot very small with seven seats taken Third row only for kids Fast facts Power: 95 kW @ 6 000 rpm Torque: 170 Nm @ 4 200 rpm Transmission: Five-speed manual Review Toyota Verso 2.0 D-4D New car (7.2 out of 10) REVIEW DATE: 09 Apr 2009 Need an MPV you can rely on? Toyota's Verso D-4D is as safe a bet as any. Steve Walker reports. TOYOTA VERSO 2.0 D-4D NEW CAR REVIEW Toyota is the world's largest car manufacturer and if it wanted to produce cars that stunned the populace with their exotic looks and stylistic elegance, it almost certainly could. The fact that most modern Toyota's are fairly unremarkable from a design perspective therefore indicates that Toyota isn't overly concerned with such trivialities. This is a manufacturer that knows its market, the very consumers that have propelled the brand to its current position of dominance. These are consumers that want quality, reliability, practicality, low costs and value for money.

This is what modern Toyotas do best and few do it better than a Verso MPV with a D-4D diesel engine. Toyota's no-nonsense approach to car design works better in some sectors of the market than others and the MPV sector is one of the ones where it works best. MPV buyers have families and the things that matter to them are having enough space to fit the kids inside, having an interior that the kids won't pull to pieces and having running costs that won't eat into the kids' inheritance. The Toyota Verso has never been very sporty or stylish but it has always filled these key criteria well, particularly with a D-4D diesel engine installed. The latest model adheres to a very similar formula, with incremental improvements made across the board to ensure it stays ahead of the chasing pack. The D-4D diesel engine is the entry-level choice for Verso diesel customers, a 2.0-litre unit that sits below the 2.2-litre D-CAT alternative. Despite being the junior partner in the line-up, is still produces a respectable 124bhp from its four-cylinder layout and common-rail injection system.

The 0-60mph sprint takes 11.3s making this diesel the slowest of the Verso's engines on paper but it does have torque of 340Nm from 2,000rpm which means it'll feel stronger than the petrol alternatives in everyday driving conditions. "The Toyota car design ethos is a great fit in the compact MPV market sector" The Verso may not be particularly sporty but its light steering and firm body control mean it's easy to drive and reassuring in corners. The D-4D engine is very quiet when pottering around town, partly down to its mechanical refinement and partly down to the Verso's comprehensive sound deadening measures. Even when you accelerate hard, cabin noise isn't over the top. The interior is where it all happens in a car like this and Toyota has made a number of improvements to its simple and effective Easy Flat-7 seating system to ensure that family life runs smoothly. The seats do pretty much what it says on the tin in that there are seven of them and they're easy to fold flat. Each of the five rear seats can be folded individually to create a level load floor, opening up no fewer than 32 seating permutations for the vehicle.

On the latest model, the outer seats in the middle row automatically return to their previous position after being folded to allow passenger access to the rear, while those rear seats can also be reclined a little. The old Verso had a paltry 63-litres of boot space with all the seats occupied but this model ups that to 178-litres and with all the seats down, there's a 1,830mm maximum load length to be exploited. This car is immediately recognisable as a Toyota Verso by anyone who has seen one of the Verso's previous iterations. It's always been one of the brand's more attractive efforts, which isn't saying too much, and that continues with some sharper angles around the front end and a distinctive crease running from the roof at the rear down the back door and above the sills to the front bumper. The rear light clusters are particularly attractive with their circles of LED brake lights with indicators in the centre. The Verso is bigger than ever in this latest form having gained 70mm in length and 20mm in width over its predecessor. The height remains unchanged for a lower and more planted overall look.

The price premium needed to secure a diesel version of the Verso is £1,200 over the 1.8-litre Valvematic petrol model. It's not a huge sum given the extra torque of the diesel and its superior economy. It's also similar to the sums other manufacturers will charge for equivalent models. The trim level range opens with T2 and extends upwards through TR to T Spirit by which point things have become quite plush. All models receive air-conditioning, the Easy Flat-7 seating system, electric heated door mirrors and electric windows but the T-Spirit has climate control, keyless entry and start, cruise control, automatic wipers and a rear parking camera. Perhaps the most notable inclusion on the Verso is VSC+ stability control as standard. This system can correct skids by distributing power and applying the brakes to individual wheels and is a real bonus on this family vehicle. Elsewhere there's HAC Hill-start Assist Control, seven airbags and active front headrests. Ownership costs look like being another Toyota Verso D-4D strongpoint.

Toyota's reputation for build quality and reliability is well founded and it not only helps minimise repair costs while you own the vehicle, it also serves to prop-up residual values, ensuring a good price when you come to sell it. The D-4D engine emits 143g/km of CO2, which isn't bad for a seven-seater, and returns a creditable 50.4mpg on the combined cycle. Toyota has also worked hard to keep insurance costs down on the Verso with bolt on bodywork components at the front end and headlight clusters that are similarly easy to replace in the event of damage occurring. The D-4D diesel engine falls into group 15 which isn't bad for this class of vehicle. The Toyota car design ethos is a great fit in the compact MPV market sector and the Verso deserves to rack-up big sales figures as a result. This is a solid, sturdily-built and highly practical product in the marque's finest traditions and the 2.0-litre D-4D engine adds punchy performance and low running costs into the mix.

There are prettier and more exciting alternatives than the Verso but few are better at being a compact MPV and in the end, that's all that many buyers want. TOP 5 VERSO DEALS Toyota Verso T180 D-4D | Renault Laguna GT vs Toyota Verso T180 | Auto Express Renault Laguna GT vs Toyota Verso T180 Excellent long-distance cruising ability; the dash-mounted gearlever is perfectly placed. Against: The T180 is surprisingly agile for a compact MPV, but it can’t match the clever Laguna GT; Hard plastics and a lacklustre cabin design betray the Verso’s age. email Potent diesel engine gives seven-seat people carrier a sporting edge. A sporty Toyota Verso sounds like it could be a contradiction in terms, but nestling deep in the price lists lies a version of the compact MPV with some serious performance potential. The model was launched as the Corolla Verso in 2005 (the Corolla part of the name was ditched with the launch of the Auris), but it’s only with Toyota’s 2.2-litre diesel under the bonnet that it has what it takes to stand out from the crowd.

Even with some subtle body tweaks, the Verso is fighting a losing battle against the Laguna when it comes to styling, because it’s impossible to ignore its boxy shape. The third row of seats demands an extended roof and tall body, and while the T180’s five-spoke alloys and silver roof rails look smart, they can’t help disguise its MPV profile. It’s a similar story inside. The angular design of the Verso’s dashboard isn’t as easy on the eye as the swoopy Renault’s, and the hard plastics are of a lower quality. As you would expect, the fit and finish are solid, but the cabin lags behind the Laguna’s when it comes to equipment. Rear parking sensors are standard on the Renault yet a £495 extra on the Verso, and the French car also features part-leather upholstery and keyless entry and starting as standard. However, Toyota’s compact MPV hits back with a third row of seats that fold into the boot floor. They’re a real bonus for large families, but load space is severely restricted if you need to use them, with only 63 litres available when all seven are in use.

Legroom is tight in the rearmost row, too, so you should only regard them as occasional seats for children. Fold the second and third rows flat, and the Verso offers a vast van-like load space. But while its 1,563-litre capacity is good, the longer Sport Tourer beats it with an impressive 1,593 litres. Climb into the front of the Verso, and the commanding driving position is excellent. The Toyota gives great visibility, and it’s easy to get comfortable, too. However, the Verso doesn’t feel particularly exciting. One concession is the addition of a starter button, but as with the Renault, this is tucked away behind the steering wheel and not visible from the driver’s seat. Press it, and the 2.2-litre diesel makes no secret of which pump it prefers at the forecourt. The D-4D unit isn’t as muted as the Renault’s at cruising speeds, and while it produces decent pulling power from as low as 2,000rpm, the people carrier can’t match the Laguna for pace.

Toyota quotes an identical 0-60mph time to the Laguna of 8.8 seconds, but on a damp test track, we could only achieve a best of 9.6 seconds. If the Verso struggles to stay with the Laguna off the line, it lags even further behind in the bends. It can be hustled surprisingly quickly, but passengers are likely to demand a slower pace, thanks to the large amounts of body roll. The lifeless steering provides precious little feedback, too. The tall body also makes itself felt under braking, where the Verso squirms as the weight loads up the front wheels. The suspension has clearly been set up for comfort rather than agility, which makes the T180 an excellent long-distance cruiser. At the pumps, the Verso boosts its prospects, because although it matches the 400Nm torque output of its rival, the Toyota averaged 30.7mpg over our tough test route, compared to 27.8mpg for the Renault. Will that be enough to swing the verdict for the people carrier?

Details ‘CHAPTER & VERSO’ - Toyota Verso Range Independent New Review (Ref:917/1357) Listers Approved Need to get in touch? Give us a call. Our helpful customer advisors are available to answer questions and give you the advice and information you need. For all other enquiries please contact us from the contact Listers section. Listers.co.uk uses cookies. For more information see our Cookie Policy . ‘CHAPTER & VERSO’ - Toyota Verso Range Independent New Review (Ref:917/1357) Car and Driving's Independent New Review of the Toyota Verso Range. By Jonathan Crouch Added 21st May, 2015 Toyota’s Verso is a 7-seat compact MPV you can depend on. Jonathan Crouch checks out the improved version. Ten Second Review What do people look for in a compact, seven-seater mini-MPV for the family? Good build quality, neat packaging, a versatile seating system, a reputation for reliability and a choice of frugal engines? Toyota’s improved Verso certainly ticks all those boxes, especially with its efficient 1.6-litre diesel powerplant and extended connectivity options.

Background Slowly but surely, Toyota’s product range is becoming more desirable. Not only the sporty niche models but also the more practical cars in the line-up - like this one, the Verso MPV. This is an improved version of the third generation model of Toyota’s compact family-sized MPV, a vehicle we first saw in 2001 badged as the ‘Corolla Verso’. That model only had five seats, but a seven-seater design followed in 2004, before this MK3 version made its debut in 2009, also with up to seven seats, but now branded purely as ‘Verso’. It was an exceptionally competent car, but it wasn’t one you’d necessarily find reasons to try and buy and too often for Toyota’s liking, potential buyers passed up the opportunity for ownership in favour of more stylish or perhaps more dynamic options in the compact people carrying segment. Hence the need for this continually revised third generation version. It’s now got a revised and better equipped trim range. Let’s check the Verso line-up out.

Driving Experience One of the issues with the second generation Verso was the car-like driving position that saw you sitting quite low, not something MPV buyers tend to like. This one doesn’t perch you up 4x4-style, but you do get much more of the kind of commanding view out that you’d expect from this kind of car. Ironically though, the less sporty seating stance is now accompanied by more dynamic road manners. No, it’s not a car you’d go out and drive for the fun of it but firm body control with plenty of grip mean it’s easy to manoeuvre and more reassuring in corners than you’d expect from something relatively high-sided like this. The electric power steering system is particularly good, a clever variable assistance affair into which Toyota has developed a function that detects steering inputs that are too forceful and acts to smooth them out by reducing the amount of power assistance. Mainstream Verso ownership will see you choosing between 1.6 or 1.8-litre petrol engines or the unit most will want, the 1.6-litre D-4D diesel, a powerplant developed by BMW.

The Valvematic petrol engines rev sweetly but are less relaxed than the diesel alternative and, as you’d expect, deliver significantly less pulling power. Hence our preference for the 110bhp 1.6-litre D-4D unit that most owners will probably choose. On paper, a rest to sixty figure of 11.3s makes it about 2.5s slower to sixty than the 1.8-litre petrol alternative. In practice, the fact that it develops a significant amount of extra torque and does it at the bottom of the rev range rather than the top means that it feels a far more willing companion in day-to-day motoring. The diesel engine also perfectly complements this car’s demeanour as an exceptionally refined long distance cruiser. Design and Build This third generation Verso’s so-called ‘keen’ front end styling certainly gives this Verso a purposeful stance, dominated at the front end by a large trapezoidal lower grille set within a redesigned bumper. There’s also a smaller upper grille which features a chrome-plated horizontal trim bar and runs the full width between sleek headlamp units that incorporate daytime running lights.

What hasn’t changed for some time are the essential dimensions of this car - wheelbase, height and width - all of which means that this remains one of the more compact mid-sized 7-seat MPVs. Still, with virtually all People Carriers of this sort, the third row seating is anyway really only intended for children, so it’ll probably suffice. If you really must put adults here, you’ll find it fortunate that the seats recline. To keep bigger folk happy even on short journeys though, you’re probably going to need to go a bit further than that and persuade those in the middle seating row to make use of the 195mm backwards and forwards sliding range that’s on offer to enable some kind of passenger legroom compromise to be reached. And boot space? Well with all the seats occupied (a rare scenario for likely buyers), there’s 155-litres of luggage room, though you do get 11-litres of under-floor storage, enough to hold three six-pack cases of 1.5-litre plastic bottles. Like the review?

Take a look at available New and Used Cars New Verso Estate 1.8 V-Matic Icon TSS Nav/Leather from £25,765 Market and Model The key change with this revised version is Toyota’s decision to streamline the Verso range into three trim grades - ‘Active’, ‘Icon’ and ‘Design’. For some time now, Toyota’s pricing has been sharpening against its rivals and here’s another case in point. Expect to pay somewhere in the £19,000 to £25,000 bracket for your Verso, which makes this car very competitively priced indeed. Only the base-trimmed entry-level ‘Active’ petrol 1.6 offers the five-seat-only layout that very few potential buyers will want given that a seven-seat version is only £500 more. Around half of all potential Verso buyers will want to pay the £1,500 premium necessary to graduate from the petrol 1.6 to the 1.6 D-4D diesel variant, a car and engine combination that’s priced from just under £21,000.

If you’re a petrol person and want to know how much more it would be to graduate up from the base manual 1.6 to the automatic Multidrive S 1.8, the answer is £1,500. Above ‘Active’ level, all models get ‘Toyota Touch 2’, Toyota’s touchscreen-operated multimedia system. It comes with a high-resolution screen and the package includes Bluetooth for hands-free phone calls and sending and receipt of text messages. There’s also a rear-view camera and the set-up is also enabled for simple connection of iPods and MP3 players via USB or Bluetooth. Audio system options, such as the radio and CD player, can also be controlled using the screen. Buyers can upgrade to sat nav-equipped ‘Touch 2 with Go’ status if they wish - an upgrade standard for ‘Design’-spec buyers, who also get part-leather upholstery and a panoramic glass roof. Cost of Ownership Size and weight are two things the Verso has plenty of but its advanced engines still manage to yield class-competitive economy and emissions figures thanks to Toyota’s Optimal Drive technology.

This has been used in this generation model to boost power across the range by up to 20% while lowering fuel economy and emissions considerably. As a result, both petrol engines return around 40mpg on the combined cycle with CO2 emissions in the low 160s. The 1.6-litre D-4D diesel engine emits just 119g/km of CO2, making it one of the cleaner units of its kind. Residual values are reasonably strong. These see this car retain between 38-42% of its original purchase price after three years or 36,000 miles: compare that to the 26-28% you’ll get from a Renault Grand Scenic. Summary Never a car to overly impress the casual onlooker, Toyota’s improved Verso is most appealing to the real experts of the compact MPV market, buyers with families who put these vehicles through their paces day in and day out. Well built, user-friendly, reliable and economical, this third generation model really has these important qualities nailed down. It also gets a class-competitive diesel engine in the form of the BMW-sourced 1.6-litre D-4D unit.

This is a prime example of Toyota doing what it does so well. Other compact MPVs might leap off the showroom floor at you with their gimmicks and technology but how many are as good as the Verso at getting a family efficiently from A to B, keeping the balance sheet healthy and making you feel good about the whole thing at the end of the day? Exactly. Performance Toyota MPV Seven Seaters * Hybrid Prius-Plus * Verso * LC V8 (4x4) Good Tyres Matter MPV's From Toyota From rather humble beginnings selling the West cheap, efficient and sometimes fun cars that usually banked on the strength of being small, Japan’s Toyota has expanded to become the world’s number-one carmaker. Along the way, Toyota has created some notable sports cars, a luxury brand nearly capable of rivaling Mercedes-Benz, and a whole new market for green motoring. Hybrid 7-Seater the Toyota Prius Plus Perhaps the most notable of Toyota’s MPVs is the Prius. Launched in Japan in 1997, it represented a revolution in environmental motoring.

Until recently, the Prius, which offers a hybrid power train, a range of technologies aimed at maximizing the vehicle’s environmental efficiency, and some novel packaging ideas, was only available as a five seater. The model is now in its third generation and it has become one of the hottest saloons in some markets. Toyota recently announced a seven-seat model to be sold alongside the regular five-seat hatchback. Called the PriusV, the new model is called the Alpha in Japan and the Prius+ in Europe. All models are plug in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV). They combine battery power that can be charged from plug-in power points with small petrol engines that takeover when the battery runs low on juice or performance demands exceed the output of the electric power train. The Prius+ is on sale in the UK now. Though it looks very much like a stretched Prius, the Seven Seat Prius+ model is actually different in many ways and is both slightly longer and taller. Thanks to that hybrid power train, the Prius+ also offers something few other seven-seaters can offer: near-silent operation. When operating in completely electric mode, the Prius+ produces no engine noise and no tailpipe emissions.

We now have all the facts and figures about the new Hybrid 7-Seater, in the Prius+ Review . However if you need seven seats and you want a Toyota, you have a few other options. Toyota's Compact Verso The most practical is probably the Verso, a highly-regarded compact MPV that has been available for several years. Offering a 5+2 seating format, the Verso is remarkably compact people mover, though these relatively small dimensions represent a bit of a compromise. The Verso is a good-looking car, something made more remarkable by its status as a seven-seater. That status, however, is a bit iffy as sticking a full complement of seven people inside the Verso is likely to lead to complaints, especially if you put full-sized adults in the third row of seats. The Verso ’s clever seating does make it very easy to make the most out of this cabin and children should be fine in the back for longer trips. Otherwise, the Verso makes a clever and capable performer that lacks any real sparkle in either its styling or its road manners. The Verso comes with the usual legendary engineering and build quality.

It is also available with several different engines, though the diesel is probably the one to go for, as it offers reasonable pace and superior fuel economy to the petrol units. Toyota's Land Cruiser (LC) V8 4WD If the seven people you need to carry regularly includes adult rugby players or even teenage volleyball teams, then the LC V8 is probably the only seven-seat option available for you. A stretched Land Cruiser, the LC V8 is neither an environmental masterpiece nor available to those on slender budgets. The LC V8 ranks amongst the most expensive production vehicles available from Japanese automakers. The Nissan GTR and Toyota’s Lexus LS range may be the only mass-produced Japanese car available in the UK today that costs more than the LC V8 . So what do you get for your £60,000-plus? You get a large truck that is built as well as anything else in the world, packs world-class off-road ability and offers a solidly-made, if rather plasticky interior. Few people will find the Land Cruiser V8 ’s exterior styling to be, well, stylish.

This is a large, bluff beast but thanks to a 4.5-litre V8 diesel engine with two turbochargers, it should have no trouble keeping up with traffic. You’ll be burning through fuel and road tax while doing it, however. The diesel engine won’t bankrupt you as quickly as a petrol engine but this is a big vehicle. Insurance costs are high and servicing the power train, brakes and tyres will likely add up. The bottom line is: if you’re eager for a reasonably-capable seven-seater and don’t have a lot of money to spend on running or buying your car, you’ll either want to try the Verso or wait for the Prius+. You May Like: Toyota Verso Mpv 16 V-matic Active 5dr ÃŽâ€œ Seats] | Car Leasing | Select Car Leasing Read more about TOYOTA VERSO MPV Find out everything you need to know on the new from independent vehicle review website Car And Driving. You can watch the video review to the left to see more of the car or read their written review below to get a true insight from an expert in the automotive industry.

No reviews available for this car Customer Reviews EXCELLENT customer reviews on We pride ourselves on our great customer satisfaction rating. Read some of our independent reviews below: Christopher Smith 14-12-2016 I found the most cost effective car with exceptional customer service. Charlie (Sale person) ensured I had selected the right model for the car I wanted and kept me informed as to how and were my order was. I will defiantly be using Select Car lease when my lease expires. Dave Marsden 13-12-2016 From initial contact with sales Sam Malik, the whole process was well managed and each department kept me informed at every stage. Will certainly recommend to friends and family Andrew Dollimore 10-12-2016 All questions answered. Very professional and friendly service which gave me the confidence to take the plunge and go for my first car lease contract. Highly recommended car leasing broker. Dan Limb 09-12-2016 My first time leasing a car so we didn't know what to expect but Andy Joel was friendly, helpful, and transparent all the way through to recieving my car a month and a half early. Would recommend this company to anyone.

Kelly Wainwright Highly recommend Select Car Leasing. Really happy with the service they provide. Kathryn Hardcastle 07-12-2016 This was my first time leasing through a leasing company and I chose Select Car Leasing based on other client reviews. I was not disappointed, the service from start to finish was brilliant, the team there are very proactive and ensured I was kept up to date as the process unfolded. I am very happy with my vehicle and the entire experience and would not heistate to give the highest recommendation to Select Car Leasing. Well done to the whole team and particularly to Shane Pither, I am very grateful. Review Toyota Verso Range New car (6.6 out of 10) REVIEW DATE: 11 Jul 2007 Toyota's Verso keeps a comparatively low profile in the compact MPV sector but as a solid, dependable family car, it has few peers. Steve Walker reports. TOYOTA VERSO RANGE NEW CAR ROAD TEST Manufacturers deploy a whole range of different methods to help them sell new cars.

These tactics have been carefully fashioned down the years to seduce the most iron-willed of buyers and have cautious customers eating from the palm of the sales executive's hand. Some will introduce value-added special edition versions to bring in the showroom traffic, others will cram the model range with design and technological innovation and some will produce a firecracker halo model to raise the profile of the rest of the range with its headline-grabbing performance. Examine the compact MPV sector and you'll see all of these strategies and more in action but Toyota's Verso tends to come at the problem with a much straighter bat. The only thing that's truly exceptional here is the car's all-round competence. Toyota present buyers with a choice of two VVT-i petrol engines generating109bhp and 127bhp from their respective 1.6 and 1.8-litre capacities. These modest power-outputs are produced at a lofty 6,000rpm so both engines need to be worked quite hard in order to extract meaningful performance. They're adequate for short trips around town but if you can afford them, the diesels are a better bet.

Both oil-burners are 2.2-litre D4-D units and in each instance, Toyota have been slightly disingenuous in terms of their naming culture. The D-4D 140 actually produces 134bhp and the D-4D 180 engine found exclusively in the range-topping T180 model actually has 175bhp on tap. The two oil-burners are predictably strong on torque, serving up 310Nm and 400Nm respectively from just 2,000rpm. "Gimmicks aren't the Toyota Verso's style." On paper performance is fairly impressive with all the powerplants except the 1.6-litre petrol. The 1.8-litre petrol can do the old 0-60mph sprint in 10.8s but remember its high-revving characteristic when you compare it to the D-4D 140 (0-60mph in 9.4s) and the D-4D 180 (0-60mph in 8.8s). On the road, the Verso handles quite sweetly.

The high-sided body is well controlled in corners and the steering is quite direct. The suspension is firmer than the average in this sector but many rivals are set-up to obliterate imperfections in the road surface at the expense of composed handling, so whether you prefer the ride in the Verso to that of a Vauxhall Zafira or Renault Scenic will be largely a matter of taste. The Verso's styling has a lot in common with that of other mainstream Toyota products in that it's neat and unfussy rather than extrovert in any way. Even the most recent facelift was only introduced to bring the Verso's front end in line with the similarly low key Auris and Yaris models. The grille no longer has a bar running across it and the apertures in the under-bumper that house the fog lights on plusher models are now more aggressively angled. Certified nitpickers may also spot minor revisions to the front and rear light clusters. Unlike some similarly sized rivals, the Verso can seat seven and all five rear seats fold down into the floor to create a totally flat loading surface. This means that you won't need to haul heavy seats into and out of the car if ultimate carrying capacity is required.

A lot of thought has gone into this system, the seats not only being the lightest in class but also requiring a simple one-touch operation to fold each one flat. As tends to be the case with compact MPVs, adult-sized persons will struggle to get into the rearmost seats. The interior is resoundingly tough and well-built - something of a Toyota trademark. Probably more so than any other compact MPV, you can be sure that the Verso isn't going to wilt under the pressures of family life. The controls on the dash are clearly laid-out and easy to use at a glance while the materials are of good quality. Storage space could be better. The Verso range is divided between the usual T2, T3 and T-Spirit trim levels but you also have the mildly sporty looking SR derivative and the range-topping T180 to consider. All Verso models now come with an MP3-compatible CD stereo as well as air-conditioning, electric front windows and electric wing mirrors. The T3 adds various features including dual-zone climate control, alloy wheels and stability control while the T-Spirit gets satellite navigation and blue tooth connectivity as part of its armoury.

For those of you facing long journeys, the SR derivative comes with the option of the boredom-busting Modular ICE (in-car entertainment) system. This features two, removable, seven-inch television screens in the back of the front headrests for viewing DVDs or connecting to games consoles. The T 180 gets a sensible range of extras on top of the T-Spirit spec, enough to differentiate it without going too far. 17-inch alloy wheels, tinted rear glass, smoked headlight glass, a perforated leather steering wheel cover and various interior trim detail features are included, so it's hardly a Max Power wannabe. Toyota have sensibly kept things subtle in a way that doesn't tarnish the Verso's general sheen of competence by forcing it into pretending to be something it's not. You can always buy a Toyota and feel reasonably confident that it isn't going to cripple you financially with repair bills as soon as the warranty runs out. The used market too has a healthy respect for the Japanese manufacturer's reliability record and the depreciation blow is softened as a result.

In terms of fuel economy, the diesel engines are unusually large for the sector so you won't get the fuel-supping performance that's available in some of the alternative compact MPVs - but then they don't have the Verso's performance. The official combined economy figures are, in reverse order, 36.7mpg for the 1.8-litre petrol, 37.7mpg for the 1.6-litre petrol, 41.5mpg for the D-4D 180 and 44.8mpg for the D-4D 140. Gimmicks aren't the Toyota Verso's style: it's a take-it-as-you-find-it, get-the-job-done kind of vehicle that's been developed over the years into a highly competent package. The car is thoroughly user-friendly, from the easy-to-operate seating system to that trademark Toyota reliability and the marked absence of the kind of niggling annoyances that drive you up the wall during day to day use. There are few rivals to touch it. If you had to criticise the Verso, it would be on grounds of its slightly dull image and nondescript styling.

The ride is a shade firm but many will happily shoulder that burden in exchange for the enjoyable handling and the petrol engines need to be worked hard. Otherwise, and certainly in the key areas that really matter to customers like practicality, reliability and build quality, it's definitely the real deal. TOP 5 VERSO DEALS Toyota Verso Leasing Deals UK | All Car Leasing Can't find what you're looking for? Let us know Toyota Verso Leasing Deals UK Budget: Images Overview The Japanese car manufacturer built the ultra stylish and versatile mini-MPV the Toyota Verso for one reason, and one reason only, and that is to be the best multi-purpose vehicle you and your family can own! Read on... Key Toyota Verso Points The Toyota Verso 5-door estate hit the mini-MPV market in 2009 and offers trims from Active, Icon, Trend and Excel. The Toyota Verso Active is available with the choice of 5 or 7 seats, all other trims are available as 7 seats. Sound crowded? The Toyota Verso is spacious and the seats are easy to flatten to increase space.

Another feature that enhances the space of the Toyota Verso is the panaoramic sun roof named Skyview. Now that's a feature to show off! Toyota Verso boasts engine sizes of a handsome 1.6 V-Matic Petrol Manual and 1.6 D-4D Diesel Manual, also available is the 1.8 V-Matic Petrol Automatic. Special editions for the Toyota Verso don't end at the Skyview, oh no! This MPV also offers five star safety as a standard feature across all trims; with it's VSC+ helping to prevent slips and skids, 7 airbags at the front and along the side of the car ensures that all passengers are safe. Why Lease a Toyota Verso If you have a family and your Ford Escort no longer serves it's purpose then the Toyota Verso is your best option and at an affordable price to lease. With the option of petrol or diesel, the Toyota Verso is low on fuel compared to it's competitors, and doesn't lose out on it's looks. Have a think about what you're looking for in an MPV, and we bet our below five reasons to lease are spot on!

Five reasons to lease a Toyota Verso Mini-MPV, great for family transporting Superb safety features Well built and easy to use Super stylish exterior Competitive pricing Conclusion Reduce your stress of family outings by choosing to lease this fantastic mini-MPV that is the Toyota Verso. It's not as big as other MPV, so it's still easy to park, and still has all the room in the world with it's 7 seats and panoramic view to keep the family in awe! Our Toyota Verso car leasing deals on our hub are calling your name! Insurance: Ten Second Review What do people look for in a compact, seven-seater mini-MPV for the family? Good build quality, neat packaging, a versatile seating system, a reputation for reliability and a choice of frugal engines? Toyota's Verso certainly ticks all those boxes, especially with its latest 1.6-litre diesel powerplant. Background Slowly but surely, Toyota's product range is becoming more desirable. Not only the sporty niche models but also the more practical cars in the line-up - like this one, the Verso MPV.

This is the third generation version of Toyota's compact family-sized MPV, a vehicle we first saw in 2001 badged as the 'Corolla Verso'. That model only had five seats, but a seven-seater design followed in 2004, before this MK3 version made its debut in 2009, also with up to seven seats, but now branded purely as 'Verso'. It was an exceptionally competent car, but it wasn't one you'd necessarily find reasons to try and buy and too often for Toyota's liking, potential buyers passed up the opportunity for ownership in favour of more stylish or perhaps more dynamic options in the compact people carrying segment. Hence the need for this revised third generation version, introduced at the end of 2012, then further updated a year later with a frugal BMW-developed 1.6-litre diesel replacing the thirsty old 2.0-litre unit. Let's check it out. Driving Experience One of the issues with the second generation Verso was the car-like driving position that saw you sitting quite low, not something MPV buyers tend to like.

This one doesn't perch you up 4x4-style, but you do get much more of the kind of commanding view out that you'd expect from this kind of car. Ironically though, the less sporty seating stance is now accompanied by more dynamic road manners. No, it's not a car you'd go out and drive for the fun of it but firm body control with plenty of grip mean it's easy to manoeuvre and more reassuring in corners than you'd expect from something relatively high-sided like this. The electric power steering system is particularly good, a clever variable assistance affair into which Toyota has developed a function that detects steering inputs that are too forceful and acts to smooth them out by reducing the amount of power assistance. Mainstream Verso ownership will see you choosing between 1.6 or 1.8-litre petrol engines or the unit most will want, the 1.6-litre D-4D diesel, a powerplant developed by BMW. The Valvematic petrol engines rev sweetly but are less relaxed than the diesel alternative and, as you'd expect, deliver significantly less pulling power.

Hence our preference for the 110bhp 1.6-litre D-4D unit that most owners will probably choose. On paper, a rest to sixty figure of 11.3s makes it about 2.5s slower to sixty than the 1.8-litre petrol alternative. In practice, the fact that it develops a significant amount of extra torque and does it at the bottom of the rev range rather than the top means that it feels a far more willing companion in day-to-day motoring. The diesel engine also perfectly complements this car's demeanour as an exceptionally refined long distance cruiser. Design and Build If you haven't tried this facelifted third generation Verso before but are familiar with the original version, what you'll notice first is the brand's latest family face, the so-called 'keen' look we first saw on the company's second generation Auris family hatch. It certainly gives this Verso a more purposeful stance, dominated at the front end by this large trapezoidal lower grille set within a redesigned bumper and this smaller upper grille which features a chrome-plated horizontal trim bar and runs the full width between sleeker headlamp units that incorporate daytime running lights.

What hasn't changed are the essential dimensions of this car - wheelbase, height and width - all of which means that there's no more space inside. So, as with virtually all compact seat MPVs, the third row seating you get in almost all models is really intended for children. If you really must put adults here, you'll find it fortunate that the seats recline. To keep bigger folk happy even on short journeys though, you're probably going to need to go a bit further than that and persuade those in the middle seating row to make use of the 195mm backwards and forwards sliding range that's on offer to enable some kind of passenger legroom compromise to be reached. And boot space? Well with all the seats occupied (a rare scenario for likely buyers), there's 155-litres of luggage room though you do get 11-litres of under-floor storage, enough to hold three six-pack cases of 1.5-litre plastic bottles. Market and Model For some time now, Toyota's pricing has been sharpening against its rivals and here's another case in point.

Expect to pay somewhere in the £18,000 to £24,000 bracket for your Verso, which makes this car very competitively priced indeed. Only the base-trimmed entry-level petrol 1.6 offers the five-seat-only layout that very few potential buyers will want given that a seven-seat version is only £500 more. Around half of all potential Verso buyers will want to pay the £1,500 premium necessary to graduate from the petrol 1.6 to the 1.6 D-4D diesel variant, a car and engine combination that's priced from just over £20,000. If you're a petrol person and want to know how much more it would be to graduate up from the base manual 1.6 to the automatic Multidrive S 1.8, the answer is £1,500. There's a choice of 'Active', 'Icon', 'Trend' and 'Excel' equipment grades and above 'Active' level, all models get Toyota Touch 2, the latest evolution of Toyota's touchscreen-operated multimedia system.

It comes with an improved high-resolution screen that uses four times as many pixels as the original system, for bright, sharp images. The package includes Bluetooth for hands-free phone calls and sending and receipt of text messages; a rear-view camera; vehicle information, including trip data, climate control profile (where fitted); and management of settings for door locking and lighting. It also enables simple connection of iPods and MP3 players via USB or Bluetooth, and, where available, will display album, artist and track information. Audio system options, such as the radio and CD player, can also be controlled using the screen. Buyers can also upgrade to sat nav-equipped 'Touch 2 with Go' status if they wish (an upgrade standard for 'Trend'-spec buyers). Cost of Ownership Size and weight are two things the Verso has plenty of but its advanced engines still manage to yield class-leading economy and emissions figures thanks to Toyota's Optimal Drive technology. This has been used in this generation model to boost power across the range by up to 20% while lowering fuel economy and emissions considerably. As a result, both petrol engines return around 40mpg on the combined cycle with CO2 emissions in the low 160s.

This version's 1.6-litre diesel engine emits just 119g/km of CO2, making it one of the cleanest units of its kind. If these figures don't help you to recoup the slight premium you'll pay for Verso ownership over obvious rivals, then residual values should. These see this car retain between 38-42% of its original purchase price after three years or 36,000 miles: compare that to the 26-28% you'll get from a Renault Grand Scenic. Summary Never a car to overly impress the casual onlooker, Toyota's improved Verso is most appealing to the real experts of the compact MPV market, buyers with families who put these vehicles through their paces day in and day out. Well built, user-friendly, reliable and economical, this third generation model really has these important qualities nailed down. Previously, it was only really lacking a class-competitive diesel engine. That box has now been well and truly ticked with the BMW-sourced 1.6-litre D-4D unit. This is a prime example of Toyota doing what it does so well.

Other compact MPVs might leap off the showroom floor at you with their gimmicks and technology but how many are as good as the Verso at getting a family efficiently from A to B, keeping the balance sheet healthy and making you feel good about the whole thing at the end of the day? Exactly. Toyota Verso Video

Question: Which car company produces a compact MPV model called the Verso?
Answer: Toyota